Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Unworthy of serious attention; trivial: a frivolous novel.
- adj. Inappropriately silly: a frivolous purchase.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Of little weight, worth, or importance; not worth notice; slight; trifling; trivial: as, a frivolous argument; a frivolous objection or pretext.
- Given to trifling; characterized by unbecoming levity; silly; weak.
- Specifically, in law, so clearly insufficient as to need no argument to show its weakness: as, a frivolous answer or plea. Synonyms Unimportant, petty, worthless, flimsy, idle, childish, puerile, foolish, trashy.
Wiktionary
- adj. Silly, especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner.
- adj. Of little weight or importance; not worth notice; slight.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of little weight or importance; not worth notice; slight.
- adj. Given to trifling; marked with unbecoming levity; silly; interested especially in trifling matters.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. not serious in content or attitude or behavior
Etymologies
- Middle English, probably from Latin frīvolus, of little value, probably from friāre, to crumble.
Examples
“ANDERSON: Well, as I pointed out earlier, you know, most meals are eaten at home and these lawsuits really do give the term frivolous a bad name.”
“In the months leading up to her July resignation as Alaska governor, her legal bills had mounted to more than $500,000, fueled mostly by what she called frivolous ethics complaints.”
“Now recall, Wolf, that when Palin announced that she's stepping down, she cited, in part, the endless ethics complaints against her, which she called frivolous and she said that the legal bills were more than $500,000.”
“Palin has said one of the reasons she's stepping down is because of what she called frivolous ethics complaints by political operatives descending on Alaska.”
“Some of his other pet issues including what he calls frivolous lawsuits.”
“The president spoke today in Detroit, Michigan, about asbestos litigation and the need to limit what he called frivolous lawsuits.”
“I'm worried about the -- what I call frivolous lawsuits that make it hard for docs to practice medicine and run up the cost of medicine.”
“She said she resigned her governorship because she ran up $500,000 in debt defending herself against what she called frivolous claims.”
The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - washingtonpost.com
“And that, my friends, is what we call a frivolous lawsuit.”
“She said she quit in part because of what she called frivolous ethics complaints and personal legal bills amounting to an estimated $600,000.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘frivolous’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Words
phantasmagoria, eviscerate, avast, simulacrum, varicose, oblique, gestalt, ersatz, vernal, vivace, stellate, synecdoche and 314 more...
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henryar's list
marmoleum, menagerie, cyan, ochre, pilfer, discombobulate, loquacious, iridescent, amethyst, derelict, botulism, equilibrium and 240 more...
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no. 2
lethargic, draining, bane of one's life, hectic, mission, downer, annoying, a pain in the pro..., proverbial, stressful, not ideal, debilitating and 20 more...
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Names Used to Describe Designer Bags
A list of words that describe specific types of fashion-centric bags.
clutch, tote, feedbag, carpetbag, hobo bag, crescent, bucket, minaudiere, muff handbag, evening bag, pouch, satchel and 5 more...
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fredrx's beautiful sounding list
two most beautiful words when put together
womb, philistine, poignant, wombastic, eschelon, macabre, precipitous, panache, misogynist, placebo, cacophony, aplomb and 43 more...
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